A number of social media posts about the quality of the town water supply appeared on social media over the Christmas and New Year period when council’s offices were closed.
The bulk of the complaints appear to have come from the eastern part of town, but there were also some residents in the western and northern parts of the community contributing to the conversations.
As an east Deniliquin resident myself, I started noticing issues in December.
And it appears what we’re seeing now was replicated in January 2024.
Some believe it’s been a concern since the 2022 floods, during which the Edward River at Deniliquin reached major flood level of 9.2m and inundated much of the town.
East Deniliquin resident Gabbey Dillon-King said while she has been worried about the quality of the water, she’s had no choice but to continue using it.
“It smells like soil and tastes how it smells, but I still drink it because relying on bottled water is not viable for me,” she said.
“It’s been happening on and off for months.
“I hope it is safe to drink. No-one is getting sick from it, and we haven’t been told otherwise.”
An Edward River Council spokesperson assured community members that samples from the town water system are consistently checked for quality, with no threat of harm to consumers flagged in recent tests.
Re-opening from the Christmas break Monday this week, council staff confirmed with us, they received two formal complaints about water quality in December, and four in these first few days of January.
“The complaints involved issues with water, including problems with smell, taste, quality, and cleanliness,” a council spokesperson said.
“We would like to remind the community that the best way to ensure their problem is addressed in a timely fashion is to lodge a request with council.
“They can do this by calling council’s customer service on 5898 3000 or emailing council@edwardriver.nsw.gov.au.”
The council spokesperson said the problem could be a build up of manganese in the town system.
“During the last flood, we were able to maintain the water quality at drinking standard, while other towns had to issue boil water alerts,” the spokesperson said.
“However, during this period, we did notice that the water became discoloured, and its taste and smell were earthy.
“Since the floods, we haven't seen a high demand for water, which has impacted the flushing of manganese from the town's water pipes. This is contributing to the issue.
“The water in the pipes is regularly sent for testing against the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, and the results show that while we are within the Health Guidelines threshold. We are slightly above the Aesthetic Guidelines value for manganese.
“Since the floods, we've been working to regularly flush the manganese out of the water pipes throughout the town.
“However, the low water flow has made this process challenging. This summer marks the first period of high-water usage since the floods, and we're planning to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Council will be flushing hydrants at various locations, focusing on removing the manganese that has settled at the bottom of the pipes.
“At the same time, we must ensure that the water towers don't become too low, as that could cause significant water pressure issues for residents,” the spokesperson said.
“We are currently in the process of flushing the system and monitoring the water tower levels to ensure continued adequate water pressure.
“We kindly ask for our community’s patience during this time.”
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